Derby v Brentford preview
Friday 21 September 2018 11:26, UK
Derby will again be without captain Curtis Davies and George Evans when they host Brentford at Pride Park on Saturday.
Defender Davies (hamstring) has been out since the opening game of the season, while midfielder Evans is recovering from the knee injury he sustained making his Championship debut for the Rams against Ipswich a month ago.
Derby have no new injury issues but forward Tom Lawrence remains out as he serves the second game of a three-match suspension following his red card in the defeat at Rotherham last weekend. Long-term absentee Marcus Olsson is continuing his recovery from a knee injury.
Brentford boss Dean Smith must decide whether to freshen up his side. Smith made one change at Ipswich in midweek, with Kamohelo Mokotjo replacing Lewis MacLeod, as their three-match winning run was halted by a 1-1 draw.
Defender Rico Henry has resumed light training following a serious knee injury, but is not yet expected to be involved. Full-back Moses Odubajo, also working his way to full match fitness after a long-term knee problem, has featured for the Bees' B side and could soon be available for a belated debut.
Opta stats
Derby are unbeaten in six home meetings with Brentford in all competitions (W4 D2) since losing 2-1 in the Anglo-Italian Cup in February 1993 at the Baseball Ground.
Brentford haven't won away at Derby in a league match since February 1939, drawing three and losing six since.
Derby have failed to score in their last two league games, after a run of scoring in 11 consecutively. They last failed to score in three in a row back in February 2017.
Brentford have won just five of their last 29 away matches on Saturday in all competitions (D6 L18), winning none of their last six (W0 D2 L4).
After losing their first home league game under Frank Lampard 1-4 vs Leeds, Derby have kept a clean sheet in each of their last three at Pride Park.
Brentford's Neal Maupay has scored eight league goals this season, more than any player in England's top four tiers.
Prutton's prediction
Derby did pretty much everything but score against Blackburn on Tuesday night, and Frank Lampard would have been a little frustrated as they came away with their first draw of the season.
Brentford should have been a few goals ahead as well before eventually being pegged back by Ipswich as they lost a little bit of ground on Leeds at the top. I think they'll make up for that by sneaking a win at Pride Park.
David Prutton predicts: 1-2 (17/2 with Sky Bet)
